The invention relates to household waste crushing and storing. In particular, although not exclusively, the invention relates to a household appliance for crushing and storing metal food and drinks containers.
Pressure to recycle has led to many household waste collection services offering the facility to treat recyclable and non-recyclable waste differently. This generally requires households to separate recyclable waste from non-recyclable waste and even to sub-divide recyclable waste into different types. As a result, households need to be able to store all the different types of waste ready for collection. What is more, in order to store waste efficiently, it is preferable to crush or compact it first. Take, for example, metal drinks or food containers, such as cans; once emptied, they have a large volume to weight ratio, and it is much more efficient to store them in a crushed, reduced volume form. So, there is a requirement for a household appliance that can not only store recyclable waste but also crush it first.
Metal containers are hereinafter referred to as “cans.”